Do they free the Author in Once Upon a Time?

Q: Does Henry get his book back?

In this world, Belle went to the store and never came back.” Harsh, B. Rumple tries to convince him how much Belle loved him, but hes not interested in that story. Henry jumps into action and snags his book back, but hes interrupted by the Black Fairy, who reveals that they both know whats actually going on.

As a self-professed storyteller, Isaac becomes a television salesman, hoping to use his skill to boost consumer sales. One day, in December of 1966, he does a poor job at persuading a customer to buy a new television, so his boss must intervene to turn the situation around. After getting berated by his boss about his dismal customer skills, Isaac checks the mail pile and sees a letter from a book publishing company asking to see him. Once there, he unknowingly meets the Apprentice, who presents him with several pens on a table and asks him to pick one. Isaac chooses a quill, which glows to signify he is the next Author. Following a brief explanation about the Author's role, the Apprentice opens a door to another realm, intending to take Isaac there. ("Operation Mongoose Part 1")

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‘Once Upon a Time’s’ Patrick Fischler on the Author’s “Layers,” History With Cruella
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What happens to the Author in Once Upon a Time?
What episode do they find the Author in Once Upon a Time?
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Does Henry get his book back?

Upon accepting the job of Author, Isaac's responsibility is to record tales in a storybook with the quill as the many previous Authors before him have done. However, the one taboo is he cannot use the quill to write his own happy ending, which will result in his termination as Author. ("Best Laid Plans", "Operation Mongoose Part 2")

Arriving in 1920s England, Isaac disguises himself as a newspaper reporter and interviews Madeline, a famous dog trainer, hoping to get a good story from her. Seeing three male portraits in her home, he inquiries if she is divorced or widowed by three husbands, as Madeline becomes frustrated at his callous questions and kicks him out. Before closing the door on him, she angrily suggests he should write his own story instead of prying into hers. When her daughter, Cruella, calls to him from the window and promises a story if he lets her out, Isaac uses his quill and ink to teleport a key to her windowsill. After sneaking out, Cruella asks him to take her somewhere "loud", and he brings her to a nightclub. There, Cruella reveals she's been kept captive by her mother, who poisoned her husbands. As Isaac writes, her favorite song comes on and she convinces him to dance with her. As the night draws to a close, she thanks him for the evening and kisses his cheek, which compels him to tell her about the quill and ink's powers. Isaac proposes they run away together, but when Cruella expresses fears about being caught by her mother, he gifts her with the power to manipulate animals. Before she can go with him, Cruella insists on facing her mother alone. After giving her his car keys, Isaac waits for her at the hotel, where Madeline reveals to him that Cruella murdered her husbands and she kept her daughter locked up to protect outsiders. Only when he sees his quill is missing, Isaac realizes she is right. He finds Cruella sewing, and with immense satisfaction she recounts using her power to make her mother's dogs kill Madeline before butchering the dogs to make her new coat. Realizing she used him, Isaac makes a grab for the quill and some paper. As Cruella wrestles away the ink, it spills on her face and hair, turning it black and white. Before she can fire her gun at him, Isaac cancels it out by writing, with the quill's ink, that she no longer can kill anyone ever again. As he leaves unharmed, she yells that they are not finished. ("Sympathy for the De Vil")

At some point, Isaac returns to the Enchanted Forest. After the sorceress Maleficent makes her nest inside a cave, laying an egg, and scorches all the land around her, Isaac escapes from this region and disguises himself as a peddler. When his wagon becomes stuck in the road, Snow White and Prince Charming assist him as they pass by. With plans for Maleficent's story involving the pair, Isaac redirects them to go east into the Infinite Forest to find the Apprentice so they will agree to a deal with him in order to rid their unborn child of darkness. To accomplish this, Isaac controls the Apprentice into infusing a vessel, Maleficent's child, with darkness. After completing the awful task, the Apprentice angrily confronts the Author about his scheming ways. Isaac, currently in the midst of writing in the book with the quill, casually notes that he did it to make the story better. Believing his abuse of power has to end, the Apprentice traps him inside the storybook's door illustration as punishment. ("Best Laid Plans")

While trapped in the book, Isaac loses his ability to change stories as he pleases, although he can still record tales. ("Lily")

Some time later, a mystic from Hong Kong, the Dragon, learns about the existence of the storybook and amasses research about the Author. After his death, August takes the research with him for his journey to Storybrooke. ("Poor Unfortunate Soul")

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‘Once Upon a Time’s’ Patrick Fischler on the Author’s “Layers,” History With Cruella

Logo text Once Upon a Time has revealed its long-teased Author (Patrick Fischler) … but that is only the beginning of the tale. Although Regina (Lana Parrilla) — and Team Operation Mongoose — had been determined to find the author of the fairy-tale book in the hopes of securing a happy ending for the reformed […]

Once Upon a Time S04E18 Still - H 2015

Jack Rowand/ABC

Logo text

Once Upon a Time has revealed its long-teased Author (Patrick Fischler) … but that is only the beginning of the tale.

Although Regina (Lana Parrilla) — and Team Operation Mongoose — had been determined to find the author of the fairy-tale book in the hopes of securing a happy ending for the reformed villainess, it wasn’t quite as simple as she had hoped. The “Author,” as it turns out, wasn’t a single person — instead, there were a host of people tasked with keeping tabs on the story, and this Author was simply the latest in the line of people who had taken on the job. Perhaps more alarmingly, once the Author was released from the book — his punishment for meddling with the narrative versus being merely a recorder of what happened — he promptly ran away.

With virtually everyone looking for the Author, he won’t be able to hide for long. Fischler spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about joining the ABC series, the fan reaction to his role so far and which episode blew him away.

What can you tease about the Author’s journey?

The race right now is who’s going to get to him first. On Sunday, we will find more out about that. There are pictures out that have me talking with Bobby Carlyle [Rumple], so you do know he and I interact. Cruella (Victoria Smurfit) and the Author have a bit of a history. Her backstory is the following Sunday, and that is my favorite episode I’ve done on the show and one of my favorite episodes of TV I’ve ever done — and I’ve done a lot of TV!

Read more ‘Once Upon a Time’ Creators Break Down the Midseason Premiere’s Big Reveals

Did producers lay out the Author’s backstory for you when you were cast? Or were you finding out all these different layers as you got each script?

I found out as we went. They didn’t tell me a lot. Every week, I’d get a script and go, “Ohh, OK.”

Looking at the Author’s actions in the last episode, what do you feel his mindset was when he opted to run after being freed from the book?

He’s been trapped in the book for a long time. He knows Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas), but he doesn’t know what they want with him. He’s definitely someone who wants what’s best for himself, like a lot of us do, so he wants to see what’s out there. In that moment, he popped out of there, and the best thing is to get out of there and figure out, “How am I going to handle this?” As opposed to, “What are we going to do next with whomever these people are?” He doesn’t know exactly who they are, so he has to get out of there and figure it out himself.

We know the Author was put in the book for causing a bit of trouble and creating his own narrative. In what you’ve filmed, do you know his reasoning for doing that? Or are you still waiting to find out that particular detail?

We learn more about his backstory and his reasons for finding out why he does what he does. We will learn a great deal more about the Author.

So much of this show has been about the shades in the “good” and “bad” characters we know. Do you feel the Author leans more toward the good end of the spectrum or the bad side?

I will say this: I’ve played lots of characters that, to anyone watching, they’d say, “Oh, that guy’s such an ass, that guy’s such a jerk.” I never look at it that way. Even the worst of people come from a place of hurt; there’s always a reason someone’s acting that way. For me as an actor, to get into a character, I have to find that. Whether it’s someone who’s incredibly kind or a pain in the ass, there’s always something there you have to find that’s likable. [The Author] has a lot of layers.

Read more ‘Once Upon a Time’ Creators, Star Tease Queens of Darkness and What Makes a Hero

Anything else you can preview about the Author’s arc?

The Cruella episode is fantastic. And really, from that episode on, all of the episodes are so great for so many of the characters. The fans are going to be really excited about where this season goes.

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Twitter: @marisaroffman

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What happens to the Author in Once Upon a Time?

Perhaps more alarmingly, once the Author was released from the book — his punishment for meddling with the narrative versus being merely a recorder of what happened — he promptly ran away. With virtually everyone looking for the Author, he won't be able to hide for long.

What episode do they find the Author in Once Upon a Time?

Isaac Heller, formerly known as the Author and briefly known as the Peddler, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the sixteenth episode of the fourth season. He is portrayed by guest star Patrick Fischler.

Is Henry still the Author?

Henry Daniel Mills, currently known as The Author, also known as the Truest Believer, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time.

Does Henry get his book back?

In this world, Belle “went to the store and never came back.” Harsh, B. Rumple tries to convince him how much Belle loved him, but he's not interested in that story. Henry jumps into action and snags his book back, but he's interrupted by the Black Fairy, who reveals that they both know what's actually going on.